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By continuing to use the site you agree that we can save them on your device. Cookies are small text files which are placed on your computer and which remember your preferences/some details of your visit. Our cookies don’t collect personal information. For more information, please read our updated privacy and cookie policy, which also explains how to disable cookies if you wish to.

Paying your mortgage

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, we will try to help you and give you advice, please ring our mortgage helpline on 08000 288 288^. The following section explains how we will treat you fairly, and what steps you should take to help yourself.

We will

Contact you as soon as possible to discuss your problem.

Talk to an agency which gives debt advice (for example, StepChange Debt Charity), if you want us to.

Give you reasonable time to pay back the debt.

Only start proceedings to repossess your home if we cannot solve the problem with you.

We might be able to

Arrange a new payment plan with you, taking your and our interests into account.

Change the way you make your payments, or the date you make them.

Allow you to pay back your mortgage over a longer period of time (which would reduce your monthly payments).

If we can make one of these arrangements with you, we will explain how it would work and give you time to consider.

If, however we can not offer any of these options, we will explain why and we might agree to you remaining in the property to sell the property yourself depending on your circumstances.

What you can do to help us

Tell us as soon as possible if you are having problems repaying your mortgage or think that you might experience problems shortly.

Seek debt advice if you would like help with managing your finances.

Contact us quickly, if we try to contact you.

Make sure you keep any other people paying the mortgage, and anyone guaranteeing the mortgage, up to date with what is happening.

Keep to the payment plan we agree with you, or tell us if there is a change in your circumstances which may affect the arrangement. If you do not make the agreed payments, we might have to go to court to get back any money you owe us, or to repossess your property.

Check whether you can get any state benefits or tax credits which could help to increase your income.

If you have an insurance policy, check whether it would help with your payments.

Tell us if you move to a new address.

If you would prefer to discuss with an external debt counselling charity who can provide free advice tailored to your individual circumstances, then please ring the StepChange Debt Charity helpline on 0800 138 1111^ or visit the StepChange website.

Your opinion is very important to us. Listening to your views helps us grow as a company and stay on track with what you, our customers, want. For full information regarding our complaints procedure please visit The Co-operative Bank complaints.

Other issues

Some companies may offer you new loans or even invite you to sell your property to them and then lease it back as a way of resolving your short term financial difficulty. Please be careful, as such actions may not be in your long term best interests. We would advise you to seek independent advice before entering into any arrangement of this type. You may be thinking about handing your keys over to us. If you do this, you will still owe us any outstanding debt, and we would advise you to discuss this option with us before taking such action.

The Co‑operative Bank p.l.c. is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (No. 121885). The Co‑operative Bank, Platform, smile and Britannia are trading names of The Co‑operative Bank p.l.c., P.O. Box 101, 1 Balloon Street, Manchester M60 4EP. Registered in England and Wales No.990937. Credit facilities are provided by The Co‑operative Bank p.l.c. and are subject to status and our lending policy. The Bank reserves the right to decline any application for an account or credit facility. The Co‑operative Bank p.l.c. subscribes to the Standards of Lending Practice which are monitored by the Lending Standards Board.